Mayor Nutter Announces Opening of Regional Tactical Training Facility

Philadelphia, August 20, 2013 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter and City officials attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Regional Tactical Training Facility at the Philadelphia Police Academy, 8501 State Road, in which training will be provided to City and regional law enforcement agencies in S.W.A.T., Ordinance Disposal (Bomb Squad), and K-9 operations.

“Public safety is a critical function of city government, and this facility will give the Philadelphia Police Department the best possible environment for training officers to respond to public safety emergencies,” said Mayor Nutter. “This new state-of-the-art facility will enable all three PPD tactical squads, as well as law enforcement agencies from around the region, to save time and money by sharing resources in a space that is centrally located.”

The new 31,000 square foot, $13.5 million facility will support the joint tactical operations and training maneuvers of the S.W.A.T., Ordinance Disposal and K-9 units. Co-locating these three units with the PPD’s existing firing range will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the training provided. Following the guidelines outlined in the Mayor’s Greenworks Philadelphia plan, the station is on target to attain LEED Gold certification, which will make it Philadelphia’s first LEED Gold certified project.

Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross said, “Our K-9, Bomb Squad and S.W.A.T. units are incredibly dedicated and work extremely hard on the job. The men and women in those units are arguably some of the best professionals in the Nation. They deserve a state-of-the-art facility in which to train so they can take every precaution to remain safe while putting their lives on the line to keep us safe.”